Built By Time
by Komett
Summary: A series of short one-shot ficlets about the development of the Kuga/Fujino relationship beginning from when they first met to the uncertain future that lay beyond the Carnival. Fluff, and angst. Flangst?
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Mai HiME, or Natsuki, or Shizuru, or any random generic background characters, or even that awesome-looking rose garden. It's all Sunrise's .

A/N: Hurr, I thought I'd try a series of short one-shot ficlets, all revolving around the ShizNat pairing going from pre-carnival through to post-carnival. Prolly done a hundred times over, but meh. I like trying to come up with my own ideas for their relationship development. Depends on if you guys seem to like it or not.

*

Chapter 1, Blossoming

*

Natsuki glared from the corner of her eye at the older girl who had just plopped herself down next to where Natsuki was eating her lunch, under the shade of a large sakura tree somewhere along the border of the gakuen grounds.

Hands folded across her lap and posture perfect, the intruding girl turned to her middle-school companion with a bright smile.

"Ara, good afternoon Natsuki! I spent the entire beginning of lunchtime searching for you. You weren't in your usual spot out by the rose garden".

Natsuki snorted and turned away, muttering under her breath.

" 'Would've thought you'd get the hint already..."

Shizuru's beaming demeanor faltered for a second as she regarded the withdrawn girl she had recently claimed as "Friend".

Two weeks ago, Shizuru had been sent by her teacher to find the headmistress but instead came across a gloomy young girl in the flower garden. After a tense first meeting, Shizuru had become curiously interested in the girl and now had made it her mission to ditch her horde of fangirls each lunchtime and try to get closer to the socially aggressive beauty with the raven tresses.

Even if Natsuki herself didn't exactly enjoy her company.

Quickly conjuring another Fujino Smile, Shizuru unwrapped the bento sitting on her lap and daintily plucked a rice ball from the small mound of them residing in her luchbox.

"Would you like one, Natsuki?"

Twisting her body in a flash, Natsuki angrily knocked the food item from Shizuru's outstretched hand.

"Why won't you just leave me alone, Fujino! I make an obvious attempt to avoid you, but you _still _won't leave me alone! Go back to your perfect little group of fake friends, and stay the hell away from me!"

Shizuru blinked. Her smile had dimmed a little, but the corners of her mouth remained upturned slightly. Such willpower, she had.

She gazed at the younger girl in her blue and white middle-school uniform. She had drawn her knees up to her chest, resting her chin as she wrapped her arms around them. Shizuru noticed that her skirt was a little too short to be in such a position, but she refrained from commenting on it. Natsuki was angry enough at her mere presence already, without the added prodding of her teasing.

Shizuru could tell from the girl's cold demeanor that she was unwelcome, but she didn't make any move to leave. She didn't know what it was, but somehow she had gotten the strangest feeling that this girl was hurting on the inside and needed a friend more than anything. And even though the second-year Shizuru was the most popular girl in school, with people throwing themselves at her constantly in a bid to win her friendship, she felt compelled to try and reach out to this strange girl. Maybe it was pity?

Shizuru Fujino sighed softly and leant back on her palms, head rolled to the side and gazing softly at Natsuki. After a few moments of tense silence, Natsuki turned her head to face the gorgeous girl in the orange uniform.

"Well? Are you going to go?!"

"Nope."

Natsuki sighed dramatically and stretched her legs out, mirroring Shizuru's position as she leant back on her hands.

"... I don't get it. Is this some kind of joke to you? Did your friends dare you to trail me for a week or something?"

Shizuru chuckled quietly, causing Natsuki's eyes to snap towards her.

"Nope. I am merely opting to spend my time in Natsuki's presence, because I enjoy her company".

Natsuki released a sharp breath.

"You're never going to leave me alone, are you?" she groaned in a defeated tone. Shizuru chuckled again.

__

"Nope."

At seeing the other girl half-heartedly roll her eyes, Shizuru decided that she just couldn't resist taking a little jab at the girl.

"Besides, Natsuki is too pleasant a sight for the eyes, I couldn't stand spending a single lunchtime without seeing her cute little frown!"

Just as Shizuru had predicted from two weeks of interacting with and observing the girl, Natsuki's cheeks broke out in a mild flush of pink.

"B-baka! Don't say such things!"

Shizuru giggled and returned to her bento. Throughout the next ten minutes, she chatted cheerily to Natsuki about her interesting classmates or exciting things that had happened to her on the weekends. Natsuki, quietly munching on her own lunch, appeared greatly uninterested in the one-sided conversation.

At one point, Shizuru lost heart in the middle of a classroom recount and quietly let her speech fade out, dismayed by the fact that Natsuki thought she was a pain and was bluntly ignoring her.

Only when Natsuki turned her head and looked at questionably up at Shizuru's sudden cut off mid-speech, did she realise that the younger student had in fact had been listening to her every word. And so she continued until the siren rang, signalling the end of lunchtime.

Gracefully re-wrapping her bento, Shizuru didn't look towards Natsuki as the middle-schooler stood up abruptly and began brushing the dirt off her skirt.

__

Oh well, I tried. It's been two weeks and she doesn't seem to be opening up to me at all... perhaps tomorrow I should respect her wishes and start sitting with my classmates again for lunch...

Natsuki's shadow suddenly fell over her as the girl stepped in front of the afternoon sun bearing down on Shizuru. The tawny-haired student glanced up in surprise and question at the outstretched hand before her.

"Ara?"

"Hurry up and get up, you're going to be late. Baka."

Raising one slender eyebrow, Shizuru took the offered hand and allowed Natsuki to pull her to her feet. She tried to look into Natsuki's eyes and find a reason for her gesture, but the girl had her head turned and was looking coldly disinterested in her again, arms folded across her chest.

Shizuru was about to give her usual goodbye to Natsuki (one that was never returned) but the girl's somewhat husky voice beat her.

"Well, if you're going to follow me around all the time then I suppose I'll just have to learn to tolerate you."

Shizuru was trying to think up a way to respond to this curt statement. Should she be trying to defend herself, or was it a compliment..? With this girl, even the ever-sharp Fujino Shizuru found it diffucult to read.

At not hearing an immediate response from the upperclassman, Natsuki looked up at the slightly stunned girl.

"So... meet you here tomorrow, then?"

At once, a geniune smile spread across Shizuru's face. And even though her eyes were averted, she was sure that she saw the corners of Natsuki's lifted slightly.

__

Ara, this is the closest thing I've seen to a smile from her. Maybe I shouldn't give up so soon after all...

Shizuru took a step backwards as she prepared to start walking back towards the school ad re-join her friends for the next class.

"Ara, it's a date then."

*

A/N: So, their friendship is in the early stages. Does anybody have any suggestions for later chapters?

Oh, and don't forget to review if you like it/ hated it/ wondered why the hell I posted it!


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Mai-HiME or any other anime/yuri goodness.

A/N: Here is a short chapter two for those nice people for who reviewed. It's really good to see reviews, but kinda disheartening to be put on people's alert lists yet see no reviews from them same people... c'mon guys, don't be cruel :P

*

Chapter 2 - Sleepover

*

Natsuki nodded her head as a goodbye gesture to Yamada, as he turned his van around and drove off into the darkness after dropping Natsuki off at the front of her apartment block. Shivering, the girl wrapped her arms around her petite frame - biking leathers still rather damp and chilled - and proceeded into the building.

As she was walking, thoughts of what had transpired a mere few hours ago ran through her mind.

_Crap, now there is going to be two more at Fuuka... and that Minagi one is powerful, she sunk the entire ferry!_

She quickly pushed off the waves of sympathy and guilt that started settling over her when she thought of the possibility of injured passengers, and fished her apartment keys out of her pocket.

With a mission like hers, she needed to shut herself off from the feelings of others, which explains her antisocial tendencies and the reason why she has only one friend.

The same friend she had found sprawled out across her bed upon entering her apartment.

Quietly standing in her bedroom doorway, her tired eyes fell upon the softly-breathing figure lying on her side, turned away from Natsuki.

Green eyes glanced at her clock. 12:23am. Why was Shizuru even here?

Then, her eyes caught sight of Shizuru's schoolbag and a few scattered books occupying the corner of the room. Sighing, Natsuki mentally slapped herself.

_Of course! the study session!_

You see, a few weeks after the incident underneath the sakura tree, Natsuki had tentatively began letting herself open up more and more to Shizuru and in turn, learn a lot more about the insanely popular senior student. She had learnt that Shizuru was very fussy went it came to how she drank her tea, that her favourite colour was purple, and that she always found ways to twist Natsuki's words into dirty sub-meanings.

But Natsuki didn't mind. She liked being shown the popular girl's quirkier side, so different to how she acted in front of her classmates and teachers. Natsuki had even dared herself to believe that Shizuru was being genuine when she often spoke of Natsuki as her "Most highly regarded friend... next to Reito-san".

And to a social introvert like Natsuki, knowing that someone would try so persitently to befriend her secretly warmed her heart. Although, she'd never admit it. She'd rather act gruff and somewhat exasperated around Shizuru and her teasing attitude, but the older girl seemed to see through it and that's what made it alright.

Natsuki had to admit however that since the beginning of this year she had found little time to spend with Shizuru, who had been elected Kaichou when she unexpectedly decided to run for the position at the last minute.

And Natsuki, who had been up to her elbows with the discovery of the HiME legend and her own Child Duran at this time, couldn't help but be suspicious towards her best friend at first.

*

_"Shizuru... did... did you really become Kaichou just to help me gain access to the intranet, like I was saying before..?"_

_"Ara, Natsuki... I became Kaichou for my own ambitions. Does Natsuki really think that I would accept so much responsibility upon myself just so Natsuki could alter her attendance record?"_

_"N-no! Of course not! I was just asking!"_

_*_

At first, Natsuki had continued to find it a little odd that Shizuru only joined the campaigning right after Natsuki mentioned the benefits of having access to the school's web system. But of course, Shizuru knew nothing about First District or Natsuki's search for the HiME, so why would she push herself to help Natsuki so much for such a supposedly unimportant reason?

Natsuki soon figured, it was absurd to think that Shizuru cared about her THAT much. So she believed Shizuru when she said that she was elected Kaichou because she wanted to be.

And even if it was for a reason that was not solely Natsuki, the first year student benefitted greatly from being best friends with someone in such a high position.

Shizuru turned a blind eye to everything that Natsuki did, and made excuses for her when she was caught by others. Natsuki got away with riding a motorcycle to school, Natsuki got away with skipping classes, Natsuki got away with fighting with other students...

And Natsuki got access to the School system just like she wanted. Shizuru didn't even question the girl when she randomly showed up in the Student Council Room and asked to borrow the laptop.

Although Natsuki found it a little strange that Shizuru would put up with such things, she found herself liking the girl even more because of her endless patience.

She also the side of Shizuru that couldn't help but look after Natsuki, protect her. The side of Shizuru that made her healthy lunches and motivated her to tidy Natsuki's apartment when she came over. The side that gently nagged her to study a little bit harder and the side that said nothing and just hugged her when Natsuki felt comfortable enough to tell Shizuru about her mother.

And at the moment, that caring friend remained slumbering peacefully on Natsuki's single bed.

Natsuki was starting to feel that nagging guilt creep back upon her at the thought of Shizuru waiting so long for her return that she actually fell asleep!

_I can't believe she waited up for me.. so long that she actually fell asleep in my bedroom..._

Natsuki was at war within herself. Should she let the girl stay the night? Afterall, it was Natsuki who had organised for Shizuru to come over at 8, and it was Natsuki who had given Shizuru her spare key.

On the other hand, the arrogant side of Natsuki argued that Shizuru should've left after the first hour, and shouldn't have entered Natsuki's bedroom in the frst place!

In the end, Natsuki quietly crept across the room and gathered some dry pyjamas. She showered quickly and quietly, and made her way towards the edge of the bed Shizuru wasn't facing.

She gently lowered herself onto the mattress, careful not to wake her friend, and rolled onto her side until the two girls were back-to-back. And there, she fell alseep to the soft, rhythmic sound of Shizuru's steady breathing.

*

In the morning, Shizuru slowly cracked one bleary eye open as sounds began to register around her. Immediately, she picked up Natsuki's scent on the pillow she resting on.

Confused for only a second, Shizuru suddenly remembered where she was and where she had slept last night. She smiled into the pillow as she registered the feeling of a warmth pressed up against her back, and hot breath tickling the back of her neck. The girl's arms were clinging onto the fabric of the back of her tee-shirt.

_"Ara... Natsuki is so delightfully clingy in her sleep!"_

_*_

In case you guys didn't really pick it up, this is set on the night of the first episode of Mai-HiME. The ferry one? Yaahh, that one. :)

Please leave a review if you read this and reckon I should keep going!


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